The Golden Touch

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who adapted the story from a Greek myth,

is careful not to mention

• gods or goddesses

• King Midas’s cat

• King Midas’s wife

• any supernatural character

The narrator of the story is

• a storyteller named Eustace Bright

• author Nathaniel Hawthorne

• a third-person limited voice

• first person (King Midas)

The narrator’s tone toward King Midas is best described as

• sarcastic

• supportive

• disdainful

• apologetic

The Golden Touch is given to King Midas by a young man with a

cheerful face. What is the one supernatural feature of this being?

• ears like a donkey

• a lustrous smile

• a golden, winged helmet

• golden eyes

One of the first objects Midas touches with his special power is a book;

what is ironic about its transmutation?

• Its text is illegible, so it has no value as a book.

• It was a book that Midas never bothered to read.

• It was a fake book that had a secret compartment for coins.

• It was written in a language Midas didn’t speak.

When Marygold comes to breakfast, she is crying because

• the cat has kept her up all night meowing to be fed

• she has lost her senses of taste and smell

• her bread and milk have gone cold

• all the roses in the garden have been turned to gold

While Midas is trying to eat, the author includes an allusion to a story

you may know. It is...

• Jack and the Beanstalk

• Humpty Dumpty

• The Three Little Pigs

• The Goose Who Laid the Golden Egg

Midas’s food turns to gold as he tries to eat it. Based on context clues,

what do you think is the meaning of the word in bold in this sentence

from the story?

“How many days, think you, would he survive a continuance of this rich

fare?”

• valuable

• unhealthfully spicy or sweet

• vividly colored

• having an abundance of desirable qualities

What is ironic about King Midas’s quote “My precious, precious

Marygold!”?

• He doesn’t really love his daughter.

• He has just placed her in the treasury with the rest of his gold.

• Marygold is not really his daughter.

• She has just been turned to gold.

What causes Marygold to be turned into a golden statue?

• Midas spanks her for disobeying him in the rose garden.

• She trips on the stairs, and Midas catches her without thinking.

• Midas slaps her for complaining about her golden bowl.

• She tries to comfort Midas, and he kisses her.